My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

I'm relatively new to the game of fragrances and have been a regular on basenotes for roughly 4 months and have mostly just posted "vs" or recommendation threads like a lot of the newer BNers do, so i decided to branch out a little bit and share my opinion a little more deeply. You can take my opinion with a grain of salt or completely disregard it if you want (trust me its alright). After spending much time trying out more and more designer fragrances, I feel that these two houses are easily my favorites.
I recently was able to purchase DHI (blind!) on the cheap. Holy Moses is that stuff good. It's one of the most unique mass marketed scents I've smelled. This and Fahrenheit were game changers. I have a lot of respect for Dior in making fragrances that are unique, but still accessible to the masses. Although I haven't tried DHS or savage, I'm sure I could appreciate them as well. Lastly, I've been reading rave reviews on their exclusive line as well, and hopefully one day I can test some out. The fact that they took such a gamble with dior homme and Fahrenheit, among others, really has made me appreciate the house as a whole.
Chanel, I believe, has made an art out of crafting high quality "safe" scents, at least for men. Bleu, Allure and its flankers AHS, EB, and even the extreme sport version all get a nice thumbs up from me. Do these fragrances blow anyone's minds? Probably not. But they are of great quality and still smell great regardless. Chanel does "safe" the right way.
I don't believe these are the be-all end-all designer houses, there are other greats I appreciate as well (YSL, Thierry mugler and even guerlain) but for some reason these two I have found a soft spot for them.
If you guys would like to comment on a certain house that you have a soft spot for, or a house you dislike go ahead and comment below!

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

I think Chanel is the designer house that don't discount? For the premium prices and ordinary smell that goes copied a lot by others, I think I prefer Dior. I also like the old YSLs but unfortunately its not well appreciated by the normal people around.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

I do own and love Chanel Allure Edition Blanche, Dior Homme and Dior Homme Intense! I tried Fahrenheit the other day and once that gasoline smell dissipates this is a quite good fragrance, the lady in Sephora even told me she wears it because she loves it so much!

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Originally Posted by RickS1169

Chanel, I believe, has made an art out of crafting high quality "safe" scents, at least for men.

Totally agree. There haven't been many Chanel scents that I haven't liked, but few that I've loved. The original Chanel pour Monsieur is my "comfort" scent. I will own Bleu mainly because my wife loves it and I can use it as my "safe" scent. I will admit, I have not tried Antaeus yet, but from what I've read...it wouldn't classify as a "safe" scent(?)

I've only tried DH and DHI from the Dior house so far. I have a few more of theirs on my To Try list though.

"We don't fail because we aim too high and miss, but because we aim too low and hit" - Les Brown

"When you're all alone, when no one is watching, and there's no one around to impress, that is who you are" - Greg Laurie

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Dior has definitely become my favorite of the 2.

Something about Chanel...must just be too classy for me. Their mens designer line is very underwhelming to me also.

Dior on the otherhand has many that I'd be a bit sad if they weren't in my collection. Fahrenheit, Homme Intense (and Homme), and Eau Sauvage Parfum are all great. Fahrenheit Absolute is a great flanker, and there are many in their Privee line that I think deserve all the praise they get.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Dior is unquestionably the leader in innovations, despite rejecting John Claude Elena's "little bag of tea" @ the Fahrenheit meeting, if u haven't read Chandler Burr's book; the reformulations on Dior fragrances by the accountants trying to save a pretty penny & cutting into their formulae r my only gripe(See forum).

Did I fail to mention Chanel risks penalty 4 adhering to their original formula 4 #5, while Jacques Polge keeps a bottle on his desk 4 yearly comparison? I only wish more companies decidedly follow suit instead of threatening one..

Last edited by googl.plex1; 14th November 2012 at 10:08 PM.
Reason: Update

On Sillage:

If someone can smell me at more than an arm's length away, I'm probably wearing too much of whatever I applied; if she can distinctly make out the top notes, then perhaps I left the house a bit too soon..

On icebreaker:

I tend to compliment people on their frags to make short talks rather than anything more meaningful.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Great insights into the diverging emphases of these two great houses.

I completely agree that Dior gets the nod for creating the edgier scents, (Dior Homme, Eau Sauvage, Fahrenheit) many of which were breakthroughs that became classics. Dior also releases its share of clinkers - all those Fahrenheit and Addict flankers for instance. Maybe that’s the downside to Dior’s exuberance and willingness to take chances. But when Dior hits, it hits big.

Chanel excels, especially in the Polge era, at creating the apotheosis, in both style and quality, of a given men’s genre. To call many of them “masterpiece” is no exaggeration. Chanel is more restrained in releasing new fragrances. But look at their lineup: high quality from top to bottom. If Chanel is “safe,” so is 24k gold.

In practice, Chanel style wins over Dior innovation for me, but not by much. I own three of each house, that are in regular rotation.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Come to think of it, their approach to fragrance does match up with their clothing style direction, which does make absolute sense as brands. While I like fragrances from both houses, Hermes probably edges them out as my top designer house.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

I really love all my Diors for the reasons already mentioned but I regret buying both Chanels (Bleu De Chanel and Platinum Egoiste). On the other side I can give Chanel thumbs up for their Les Exclusiffs line - tried Cuir De Russe, Sycomore and Coromandel and all of them are very good scents. Out of other designers YSL and Thierry Mugler are my favourites with Dior, for their unique and long lasting scents (YSL pre L'Homme era).

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

It would be wrong to compare Chanel to Dior without including Chanel masculines like Antaeus and (non-Platinum) Egoïste. These are outright classics and have nothing on the likes of Allure Homme and Bleu de Chanel. Obviously "feminines" like No. 5, No. 19, Cuir de Russie and Bois des Iles have to be included as well, and considered against the likes of Miss Dior (vintage), Diorella, etc. In this light, I'd say Chanel wins pretty easily, just in terms of consistency of creating masterpieces. That's not to discount Dior, however, which is home to some of the most groundbreaking (or, at least, trend-bucking) commercial masterpieces (Fahrenheit, Dior Homme).

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

2 Great houses, along with YSL! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these! I lean more toward Chanel for some reason...maybe because I tend to prefer "safer" fragrances, as you mentioned. As you stated, they do them "right"...I find so many of them high quality, versatile & classy. I think there's more to them than most give them credit for - as far as being "safe" scents. Yes, they are safe, but many have just enough complexity or an "edge" to them that still make them unique enough IMO. Sure, they're a bit pricey in comparison to some other "similar" designers, but really not that much more. Plus, when you take into consideration the quality and that I only have to use about half the amount of other similar fragrances to get the same longevity & projection, I'd say they actually come out to be a bargain in comparison.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Both are nice houses. Dior's fragrances are worth every penny; unique, excellent in all categories, and a step up from your typical designer fragrance.
Chanel also has a few nice fragrances, my gripe is with the price. I would rather spend $80 on DHS than AHS, it seems and smells like a more well blended fragrance. Regardless, I'm a pretty big fan of fragrances like Bleu and PE. I've yet to try EB for some reason...maybe I will tonight.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

Originally Posted by Brian_Towers

Just wow.

oh hell yeah, in my opinion their male lineup feels bland and the fragrances, when pitted against the Dior fragrances (DHI, DH, Fahrenheit, DHS, Fahrenheit Aqua, Fahrenheit Absolut, Fahrenheit 32, even the new Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum which is pimp) that I have smelled, are overpriced. Dior is also pricey, but I feel their frags have character and class, and all last a long time (the only brand I have tried so far where most of their offered line delivers on all aspects). I don't get that with the Chanels (even Edition Blanche). Bleu smells nice, but doesn't wow me. Allure Homme Sport is very nice, but it's incredibly weak. Allure is very sexy, but for sexy I think things like DHI, La Nuit do it much better. Not a fan of Egoiste and Platinum Egoiste.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

I would have to say it's close between the two because they both have produced fine perfumes, but Chanel has been more consistent in producing, over the years, classic fragrances(male and female) that have past the test of time. However, I give Dior a #1 over Chanel in Fashion, though it's off topic.

Re: My thoughts on Dior and Chanel

For me, it will definitely be Dior. I am a huge fan of the original Dior Homme. Recently I have been delving into the Privee line, picking up Leather Oud which just knocks my socks off. It's such a brilliant scent. You seem to get so much bang for your buck from this house with really quality frags.

Out of the 'designer' houses at the top of my list are Mugler, Dior and Guerlain.